Litigation Release No. 18235 / July 17, 2003

The Commission and the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois announced that on July 10, 2003 a seven-count indictment charging contempt and obstruction of justice was returned by a federal grand jury sitting in the Northern District of Illinois against Charles E. Dickerson, one of 45 defendants in the civil case SEC v. Homa. The indictment charges that, beginning in about February 2000 and continuing into January 2002, Dickerson defied court orders issued in connection with SEC v. Homa that prohibited him from spending or dissipating his assets. Specifically, the indictment charges Dickerson with five counts of contempt of court (18 USC Sec. 401), one count of obstructing the district court action filed by the SEC (18 USC Sec. 1503), and one count of obstructing the SEC's investigation (18 USC Sec. 1505). Altogether, the indictment charges that Dickerson spent about $75,000 in funds that should have been frozen and eventually returned to defrauded investors to pay his own expenses. The criminal case, USA v. Dickerson, 03 CR 676 (N.D. Ill.) is before U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber. Dickerson, who lives in Tennessee, will be arraigned on July 17, 2003.

Dickerson faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for the charges of obstructing the court, 5 years for charges of obstructing the SEC investigation, while the contempt of court charges carry no statutory maximum sentence.

Dickerson and an entity he controlled, Volunteer Enterprises, Ltd. ("Volunteer") were among the defendants named in the civil case on October 15, 1999. On that date, the district court imposed a temporary restraining order and an asset freeze order against Dickerson, Volunteer, and multiple other defendants. On February 15, 2002, Dickerson consented to the entry of a permanent injunction enjoining him from future violations of the federal securities laws. The amount of disgorgement and civil penalties that Dickerson and Volunteer will pay in the civil case have not yet been set.